GARETH THOMAS has called on rugby fans to "turn out in droves" for Friday's Heineken Cup return with English champions London Wasps.

GARETH THOMAS has called on rugby fans to "turn out in droves" for Friday's Heineken Cup return with English champions London Wasps.

Thomas made his plea after Celtic Warriors chief executive and benefactor Leighton Samuel hinted a massive crowd might dissuade him from pursuing plans for a controversial merger with Cardiff Blues.

The Warriors are favourites to win Pool Six and reach the quarter-finals because they are at home to Wasps and Perpignan. Their final match in the group is away, against bottom-placed Italian side Calvisano on February 1.

"It does make for an appetising game of rugby on Friday," said Warriors skipper Thomas in the wake of their 14-9 win at Wasps.

And he admitted a sell-out crowd of 10,000 at the Brewery Field could put pressure on Samuel to reconsider plans for the Warriors to merge with the Blues.

Samuel has been bankrolling the Mid Glamorgan region each month to keep it afloat because its outgoings have exceeded its incomings by up to &#xA3;40,000.

They need an average attendance in excess of 7,000 to break even and Thomas is banking on union followers in the region to end the infighting over Samuel's decision to ditch Pontypridd's Sardis Road as a venue for Warriors' matches.

"If we can get a crowd you never know what will happen," said Thomas. "It was great to hear the hundreds of Warriors voices at Wasps.

"I think it is fantastic they travelled that distance to support what is a new team."

And he predicted, "The return match is going to be a cracker. Having a big crowd would help our push for victory because we realise it is probably going to be twice as hard a game."

There is also the Rob Howley factor. The former Bridgend captain is a key cog in the Wasps side but the Warriors nullified him at Wycombe on Sunday.

"Rob coming back alone might have attracted a crowd, but there is so much riding on this match people should want to watch it," said Thomas. "It is Wales versus England."

Thomas believes the triumph - one of the best away by a Welsh team in the nine-year history of European competition - justified Wales' switch to five regional outfits.

"It shows regional rugby is a must and, when everyone pulls together, it will work. It was no mean feat to go to Wasps and win," he said.

"I don't think the Bridgend or Pontypridd sides of last season would have gone there and won. They did not have the strength in depth of the Warriors.

"It was not only a personal victory for the boys but a victory for Welsh rugby. The boys showed a lot of character and desire and our defence showed how much we wanted to win."

Samuel hailed the triumph as a "perfect end to a week of hell". And he elaborated on the thinking behind a possible merger with the Blues, saying, "Part of the reason we are considering it is that people have not been turning up to support the team.

"If we don't get a capacity crowd on Friday I don't know what more we can do. Having the English champions at Bridgend will be a fantastic occasion."

But Samuel warned, "We need to sustain crowds of about 7,000-8,000 on a regular basis."

England's World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward joined the widespread praise for the Warriors after watching them at the Causeway Stadium.

"The Warriors deserved their win. Conditions were not great but they defended magnificently," he said.

"They deserved their try at the end. This is a huge upset in the tournament and I have to say 'well done' to them."

Wasps coach Warren Gatland fears the shock setback to his side's European hopes means Pool Six could go all the way to the final round of matches. That would mean Wasps having to win at last season's beaten finalists Perpignan.